Moving to the Tampa, FL Area

I like the Brandon/Riverview/Valrico area. There are many schools out there. I had to learn what they all were. I grew up in Ohio we only had Public and Private schools. Here they have public, private, charter, magnet, montossire (sp), home school, etc. Good luck and welcome to Florida!

I think Carolwood area has great schools, public or private. If you can afford, then look at independent day school, which is private and I have heard great things about it. Other areas are fishhawk and westchase. New Tampa area also has some great schools. I hope it helps.

There are some public schools which are very good. We moved here from NY so I know how you feel!!! My kids were older so we were concerned about high schools. You should look at Plant High School in South Tampa. It's not really suburban there though. We live in Tampa Palms which we really like and it's very suburban. The elementary schools are good - Tampa Palms Elementary and Chiles Elementary. It's about 20 minutes north of the downtown area. Many people do send their kids to private schools though. Tampa is huge and the traffic can be terrible! We looked close to my husband's job so the traffic is not an issue for him.

I'm not sure about the age of your children but there are some great schools here at all levels, but you just have to find them. Westchase is a popular area for families, but the high school (Sickles) doesn't really have a great reputation. Lutz (north of Tampa) has some nice neighborhoods and just built a nice new high school (Steinbrenner) and has a middle school (Martinez) and elem school (McKittrick) right next door. I have some friends in the Heritage Harbor community that is in that district and right down the street from those schools. South Tampa has Plant High, which is a great school as well.New Tampa is very popular with newcomers, but beware of the traffic in that area. Some parents, like myself, opt for private schools and there are good Catholic private schools and other privates with no religious affiliation.

I live in Tampa and am an Elementary school teacher here. I have only ever lived in the north Carrollwood/Keystone area, so I don't really have a lot of advice about neighborhoods. It seems to me that people really like where they live and not other areas, so I guess it depends who you ask.
As for schools, I believe that Hillsborough has a number of great schools - on all levels. Like any other area, some are good and some not so good. Hillsborough is the ninth largest school district in the US - so we tend to try a lot of new things. Recently, Hillsborough was awarded a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It may be awhile to get all things worked out, but basically it is an opportunity to change the way that teachers are trained, mentored and evaluated. Also, FL has a "class-size amendment" that is law and restricts the number of children per class in various grade levels. You can always go to the county school web site - www.sdhc.k12.fl.us - once there, you can choose to look up any school and see if they have a web site. Most are able to give you a glimpse of what they offer. You should also be able to take a tour of any school by calling to see if you can schedule a time.
I hope this helps - Best of Luck on your search and your move!

We moved to Tampa in 2007 and rented for a while so we could determine the best place for our family. Most of the public schools in the New Tampa area (zip code 33647, in the suburbs) are "A" rated schools. We moved into Tampa Palms, a "master planned community," last year, and are very happy. The schools are great, there are a lot of community parks and facilities, and it's a beautiful and safe neighborhood. We are also close to Interstate 75 which makes commuting easier for me and my husband. Feel free to contact me for more information. Good luck!

I have no children so I won't say anything about schools. As for areas of town to live in, check http://www.laceraassn.com/ and other suburban areas. We have many people who came from Minnesota. Temple Terrace, Carrollwood, West Chase are all fine residential communities.

There are definitely areas with A schools - you can look at the different county (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco) school sites for ratings. Tampa is sprawling & has many different neighborhoods, with something for everyone. There are definitely some inner-city-type schools/heavily-congested areas, & definitely some more rural areas (though even those areas are growing quickly & will soon not be so rural). There are areas where people have horses on their property & other places where it's important that you be seen at the "it" place. Nearer to the beaches, it becomes a little more laid-back (though also more congested). It totally depends what you're looking for. I'm in Oldsmar (top of Tampa Bay, between Tampa & Clearwater/Palm Harbor/Safety Harbor) & LOVE the school my kids attend; it & the other nearby schools are all very highly rated.

It sounds like you are prepared for warm weather, but nothing can prepare you for the August & September heat! Just keep in mind that some areas still do get hard freezes in the "winter" - that might keep you going during the summers! :) You will wear lots of shorts & flip-flops for MOST of the year. Your hairstyle will likely change to something that will cooperate with the humidity - embrace it, because you can't fight it. Besides the weather, there's also a little bit of a culture shock - I don't think it matters where you're coming from, Florida residents do their own thing.

Enjoy your move & getting to make new friends & discover neat things about your surroundings.

Well, congrats on coming to Florida! It is a great place to live!!! Some areas to look at, that I would suggest, are Lutz, Odessa, Land o' Lakes, Keystone. The are all basically Northern Tampa and areas that are NOT congested. Areas to stay away from would be New Tampa, Tampa Palms, South Tampa. If you are looking for areas where the houses don't sit on top of each other, your best bet is North. I was born here in Tampa and lived all over - I now live in Lutz and it is the best place I have ever lived here! We have the lowest crime rate and there are tons of families!!!

As for schools....this is a tough one! I would say that it depends on where you live that will determine how good or bad the school is. There are some good public schools and there are some really BAD public schools! Personally, I don't like the public school system as a result of the FCAT exams. Not sure if you guys have that up there, but here it is a BIG thing. The public school system teaches this specific test and what happens is that the kids learn nothing else but what is on this test. If one year the school does poorly on the math or a section of the math part then they will focus on that with the students the next year. Anyway - to make a long story short, I HATE IT! So, my children go to a small Catholic private school. I chose this school not only because it was Catholic, which that is my religeon, but because it was one of the most affordable private schools with a good reputation. I think you will hear a lot of different views on the school systems here, mine is just one opinion.

Good luck on your move!

Welcome to Tampa, FL (originally from KY)I live in the Tampa area and yes there are alot of good schools here. Riverview has a great highschool and magnet schools are usually the best middle schools and Tinker Elementry is the best school K-5 you could send your child too. The principal is great and she really cares about her kids and how involved the parents should be.
Good Luck and Welcome to the South!